Marvel Two-in-One #1:T In Which the Thing (aka Ben Grimm) proves to be a jerk with the Man-Thing

Marvel Two-in-One  #1, The Thing and The Man-Thing. 1974.  

Writer: Steve Gerber. Artist: the legendary Gil Kane.

I had not known this was a bad early 1970's comic in which the Thing proves less than heroic.

In this issue, writer Steve Gerber gives both monsters a chance at being human again, but also reverts them back to their frightening forms. There's only one problem. Ted Sallis’ mind, as the Man-Thing, is broken. He's insane. Stallis is a shambling thing doomed to wander the swamps with no cognitive connection to his surroundings, save for observations and reactions. Sall is a walking EC horror comic.

So, Gerber's treatment is twisted and merciless. But it is his depiction of Ben Grimm (aka the Thing) that is notably mean-spirited.

In the opening pages, Ben Grimm terrifies a quiet, near-retirement-age shopkeeper, simply because Ben can’t stand that the Man-Thing has stolen his moniker. Or at least half of his name. The shopkeeper is left having palpitations and nearly passing out, with spots floating around his head. He is reduced to sitting, holding his head in his hands. 

"I've been a good man -- a religious man! I've done an honest business for forty-five years--!" he bemoans. "So...why me, lord? Why did you send him to me?" 

He is in such a state because Ben is envious and jealous. 

Oh, and then ol’ Ben hops a Greyhound and makes everyone seated around him sweat with fear. 

Of course, to get off the bus, the Thing bullies the bus driver.

"Hang yer blasted regulations!" the Thing say. "I say I want off! Now, do I haveta lean on ya-- or can we cooperate?"

"Rules.... were made to be...broken, I always say...!" the bus driver replies.

Notice the driver sweating. Everyone sweats around the Thing because he is a scary and mean character in this issue.

And don’t forget that at the first opportunity, Ben (as the Thing, no less), brutally swats Sallis aside because Sallis argues that brute force alone cannot defeat the son of the Molecule Man, the story's center-stage villain. Considering the disparity in their power levels here, one wonders why Sallis even survives the blow. But not for too long. The power-level discrepancy is left in the writer's hands. And readers can't have a dead Sallis, which translates a dead Man-Thing. So, needless to say, Sallis survives the brutal blow. And this, just after Ben and Sallis strike a tentative bond as allies and perhaps buddies. Ben merely decides to let him have it over a simple disagreement. 

In fact, even when Ted Sallis and Ben Grimm are in human form, Ben is still needlessly mean.

"But there me facilities here we can utlilize. We can't give up hope now!" Sallis says as they stroll through dusky Citrusville, Florida. "I meant what I said about hope, Ben!"

"Sallis--do me a favor, huh? Shut yer blasted trap already! I like  ya too much ta wanna knock yer teeth out ta keep my sanity!"

Ben's retort is particularly nasty, considering that once Ted Sallis is the Man-Thing, his sanity vanishes instantly. So Ben's mocking Sallis' mental instability and threatening him for being optimistic.

Getting back to the Molecule Man, the one-shot story's villain, behold his new and "more fearsome manner of garb" - a speedo combined with a lightning bolt design. He will strike fear into the hearts of beachgoers everywhere.

But, don’t worry. Even though the Thing has bullied, terrified and hit those weaker around him, he lets the Molecule Man wither away to dust because the villain killed a man just of spite. The lesson here is clear. Compared to the dastardly villain, the Thing is supposed to be heroic. Only he isn’t.  He’s unlikeable, more ill-tempered than in usual portrayals, with a short fuse and not a single kind word for those around him. Some hero. In short, Ben Grimm is a jerk in this odd, unusual and off-putting portrayal.

Thank you to Will Ludwigsen for Acres of Perhaps: Stories and Episodes

Thank you, Will Ludwigsen on this sunny summer morn, for fantastical spec in Acres of Perhaps: Stories and Episodes from Lethe Press. A heady concoction arguably inspired by Ray Bradbury, Harlan Ellison, Alan Moore and Shirley Jackson -but mostly Will Ludwigsen. Great work. Now back to civilization for me, and some fine beta reading.

Packed House at Hamilton's Lit Live Reading

Thank you, Hamilton's Lit Live Reading Series and everyone who packed the room on a rainy Sunday evening  in the astonishing Staircase Theatre cafe. The engaging host, poet Chris Pannell, guided the room, which held a lively and reverent tone, through the eclectic mix of writers.

The roster of talent I also found daunting. Anita Dolman opened the show, excerpting from her short fiction collection Lost Enough, describing a young girl's rapport with a sentient house in the stunning piece, "Overgrowth". Kateri Lanthier vividly conveyed her entrancing poetry from memory and shared some pieces from Siren. Karen Smyth dazzled with nuanced selections from her novel This Side of Sad. Adam Dickinson read from Anatomic, his poetry about microbe experimentation and his feces (whom I last saw when I ran the Tree Reading Series in 2000-2006- Adam, not his feces, to be clear...). Award-winning journalist and novelist Trevor Cole closed the evening, but not before delighting the crowd with his wry (Or should I say rye? - the editor) description of Rocco Perri, an infamous Italian bootlegger in Hamilton in 1918, in Cole's excerpt from The Whisky King. 

For my contribution, in slot number five on the docket, I read a poem, "Pitched", about my grandfather, who was a denizen of Hamilton for a time, and rode the rails. He informed my character Henry Tanner who, in my literary horror novel Town & Train, recounts his experience riding the rails during the Great Depression.  I also shared chapter one of Train, about 17-year-old John Daniel waking by the railroad tracks in the summer of 1990, not knowing how he got there.

A highlight for us was having supper with Hamilton novelist Nairne Holtz and her friend Claudia beforehand. I hadn't seen Nairne since she read at Tree over a decade ago. I am happy to report that she is as engaging and fun as ever. 

I am also happy to report that Hamilton's reading series is alive and kicking, even on a Sunday night. Our thanks again to the organizers. We met some amazing people, reached potentially new readers, and sold a few few books, all in a fantastic venue. This made our trip well worth it. 

Great Cornwall & Area Pop Event this Past Weekend

Photo courtesy of author Benoit Chartier.

My heartfelt thanks go to organizers Carol Sauve and Randy Sauve for last weekend's fourth annual Cornwall & Area Pop Event (CAPE). Anita Dolman and met familiar faces and many new ones. We drove home Sunday with one less box of books (my horror novel Town & Train from Lethe Press and her Lost Enough from Morning Rain Publishing). Having my giant face opposite fellow author Benoit Chartier's was a blast (He also snapped this early Sunday morning photo of my booth) and seeing writer Liam Gibbs was also fun. 

Make mine Marvel!
Photo of the author and Miles Morales
courtesy of Benoit Chartier.

Because Anita and I tell stories, we are inspired and by other people’s stories. An awe-filled young woman asked our son "What is it like to grow up with writers as your parents?" "Meh," said the kid. “It's so-so...” Cheers also to the high school guys (Dawson and the tall fellow) who told me what DC Comics they’re reading and about the comeback of vinyl records.

Of course, getting feedback from readers about our books was fabulous. My return customers from the 2016 CAPE did wonders for my spirits. I traded puns with my favourite volunteer and rubbed shoulders with all manner of creature, hero and character. Didja’ see Lobo? Amazing. My personal favourite, Miles Morales, the new Spider-Man (thanks, cosplayer Gary Raiche, for the photo), also swung by my booth.

All in all, the two-day event was another fun and successful CAPE.

Thwipp! Photo courtesy of Benoit Chartier.

Ready for April 21-22 CAPE, the Cornwall & Area Pop Event

Photo with the author and
Lord Vader, CAPE 2016.

The Dark Side is calling me once more to the April 21-22 Cornwall & Area Pop Event (CAPE), a comic-book and pop-culture geek haven, where I'll be with my literary horror book Town & Train and Anita Dolman's stellar short story collection, Lost Enough (Morning Rain Publishing). I anticipate dueling with Benoit Chartier and trading Jedi gossip with Liam Gibbs.

Many thanks, Carol Sauve and Randy Sauve, for organizing the saga. I've been going to Randy's Fantasy Realm since '85. In Town & Train, in fact, seventeen-year-old John Daniel visits a fictionalized version of the Realm. The store may merit an appearance in the two follow-up books that I toil on.

Shout-outs also to Matt Bright of Inkspiral Book & CoverDesign for my brand, spanking-new promo posters and Steve Berman (aka the Duke) of Lethe Press. Steve's short story edits can cut like a Sith Lord's lightsaber, sometimes striking down but only making the work stronger in the end.

Break from Social Media

Effective now, I am taking a break from social media because I have too much to do and I'm uncertain if I am reaching anyone effectively via social media platforms. My efforts might be better focused in other arenas and not a spectrum of overloading and over-stimulating media.

I need to withdraw, retreat, and question just how useful my whole writing shtick is, whether I have anything relevant to say, whether there are too many voices already out there, whether other voices might be better suited to telling stories than me, whether my voice enriches the world or merely adds to the cacophonous white noise of everything already out there, either in print or online.

Take an Arc Walk for World Poetry Day in Ottawa

Why not celebrate World Poetry Day with Arc Poetry Magazine's first Arc Walk in Ottawa, lovingly guided by rob mclennan, who has done so much for Ottawa's, and Canada's, poetry community? The walk will begin at 4:30PM in front of 248 Bank Street, and will continue to sites in Centretown. During the hour-long walk, participants will visit five locations where they will hear about some of Ottawa’s contemporary poetry history, and hear from a special guest poet (Jennifer Baker!).

This walk will be an introduction to Ottawa’s literary history, visiting sites significant to poets of the National Capital Region such as John Newlove, William Hawkins, Judith Fitzgerald, Thomas D’arcy McGee, Michael Dennis and jwcurry, among others.

Come prepared for rain or snow or shine!

For more details, go here.